


Pray You Catch Me

by KeenKandour3



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, F/M, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:43:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21878428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeenKandour3/pseuds/KeenKandour3
Summary: “You'd be foolish to think there were only two sides to this war.”Set just after the force awakens, a new sect of rebels emerge determined to join the fight against the First Order. However, they do not share the same ideologies of the ‘Resistance’ led by General Leia Organa and they intend to make this known. Caught up in the midst of the fighting is Eskariene Hunter, a product of First Order experimentation, now under the care of Yenye Hunter - the leader of The New Rebellion. She thought her rescue was an escape from the violence, but it seems that Yenye has other plans..
Relationships: Finn/OC, Finn/Rey (Star Wars), Haven't fully thought this through...
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I really love the Star Wars universe and the characters so I decided to insert my own little story. It's set just after The Force Awakens but doesn't follow the plot of The Last Jedi. I really hope you enjoy it!

She woke up at dawn - as always. Just as the sun collided with the sky, invoking a myriad of colours to fluoresce the horizon. A delicate fusion of orange, yellow, pink and red slowly encased the sky, pushing back the blues and purples of yesterday’s night. It was morning. She could breathe. She calmly sat upright on her thin cotton blanket gazing out of her window in awe of the smooth yet powerful entrance of the sun, in all its glory. This planet was good for her. A better fit than their last base. Although she did not have her own room (this was an impossible request), at least she did not have to share it with 8 other people like everyone else or live in a tent. The only people keeping her company were the teenage twin daughters of Sida and their adopted cousin. Not an ideal situation - the twins fought everyday and sometimes in their sleep - but war is never ideal.

Her existence was not ideal. She was surprised Yenye yielded to her wishes - that woman was always so stubborn, just like her. She caught herself mid-thought and examined her schedule for the day. Breakfast at 0800, surgery at 0830, morning clinic at 1030, lunch at 1230, teaching at 1300, surgery at 1400, afternoon clinic at 1600 and on call for any emergencies after that. And there were always emergencies. Then in the evening around 1900, just as the day is winding down she and the other rebels would go out to train.

_Great, no rest._ She whispered quietly to herself. But she knew she couldn’t complain, her life could have turned out much worse had Yenye not rescued and practically adopted her as her own. No, she was grateful even if her already aching head said otherwise.

She gently pulled back the wool blanket serving as her duvet and stood up, stretching to her full height. Her body was still sore from yesterday’s training session where she and Camaralis dueled as per Yenye's request. She won, but at a price. Today was going to be physically draining.

“Thanks, Yenye”. She said softly but the resentment could not be hidden in her voice.

“For what?” Yenye replied, standing by the door already fully dressed. Yenye noticed Eska’s shock at her sudden appearance and decided to change the subject of the conversation.

“Did you sleep well? I hope so because we have a very busy day ahead of us and I’ve given you a lot more responsibility now. I know you won’t let me down.” She said all of this whilst looking Eska directly in the eyes, showing no falter, no wavering. Yenye was serious. Eska was afraid.

As Yenye left the room, Eska could feel an eerie silence that wasn’t present before. _Great, thanks for ruining my morning._ She was careful to only think this, Yenye may have left but that woman had great hearing - apparently. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Yenye’s speech _

_The fall of the Empire may have proved beneficial in the short term, and we are grateful for its demise. But the war is not over. Not even close. A stronger more deadly faction has now risen from its ashes: the First Order. Now, I know you all have fled your homes and some of you have even left your families to find safety - to find us. But please do not be fooled. The concept of safety is only relative. Nowhere is truly safe. The First Order could come at any moment and attack us… we know that. We accept that. But what we do not accept is taking this truth lying down. We are not just here to nurse your wounds and feed your bellies. We are here to fight! To take back what is ours: our lands, our homes and our freedom. So as we tend to your wounds and provide you shelter, I ask you, no I implore you to join our efforts. Join the stand against the First Order, against Kylo Ren and his knights. No longer will we live our lives as victims, we will fight for what is rightfully ours. _

_We are the people. We are the resistance. We are the future._ _________________________________________________________________________


	2. Chapter 2

“Good morning, Dr Hunter”. Eska rolled her eyes at Makonnen’s greeting as he strolled into the operating theatre and sat on its table.

“Top of the morning, Makonnen”, Eska retorted much less cheerfully whilst trying to scrub up for surgery.

“Why didn’t you have breakfast? Mum said you’ll have a busy day today. You should’ve eaten.” She could hear the concern in his voice; the pseudo light-hearted ambience had now disappeared.

_ This must be genetic.  _ He and Yenye definitely had a way of changing the mood, she thought to herself. She hated how he was always right but she appreciated his concern even if nothing would come of it.

“I didn’t have time to eat, we have a surgery scheduled for 0830 and I needed to prepare”, Eska retorted, not maliciously but with enough bite for him to realise it was best not to probe further.

“It’s your first surgery, right?” He replied, taking her cue.

“Yes.”

“Scared?” He teased.

“No.”

“You’re a terrible liar”.

She wasn’t a terrible liar, but Makonnen had a way of getting to her. He could see through her facades. She wasn’t sure if it was due to their closeness - he was practically her brother - or something he picked up from Yenye. Although he wasn’t a force-yielder, he was very sensitive to other people’s emotions and knew how to manipulate them. Eska didn’t know the extent of his abilities and this worried her.

“Was there anything else you wanted to talk about Mak?” she asked subtly changing the subject. His probing was starting to annoy her.

“Nothing really”, he said whilst lifting his feet off the floor and lying down on the surgery table.

“Well, there’s one thing…”

“What?”

“What do you think about me going to the front line?”

Shock and confusion gripped her mind as she began to grasp the weight of his question. She was now forced to confront the true purpose of this refugee camp.

_ ‘...We are not just here to nurse your wounds and feed your bellies. We are here to fight! To take back what is ours…’ _

The recollection of Yenye’s speech brought a sharp stabbing pain in her chest. That was the day she realised exactly what she had been brought into - another war. And one they could not win. She had been at the mercy of the First Order for as long as she could remember. A subject of experimentation since her birth, their aim was to make her and nine others into indestructible weapons. They were cultivated from birth to host unnatural levels of midichlorians in their blood, enabling them to have powerful connections to the Force. 

She relived memories of being probed, tested and experimented on whilst she slept. For nights at a time, she would stay awake afraid of what nightmare her subconscious would conjure up that day. She could no longer remember if her dreams were as gruesome as reality. Although she had been rescued, her mind returned to the dark, damp cell she was kept every night.

The mere thought of facing her past again invoked an indescribable fear. It left her breathless and cold for several minutes at a time. Confrontation wasn’t her thing. In fact, she would avoid it all costs.

“Why would you want to do that?” she whispered. That was all she could let out, a faint whisper. Her body was working against her: her heart was beating too fast and the muscles in the right side of her body had clenched up. She was trying her best to keep calm.  _ Fear will not cripple me,  _ she thought over and over. 

“The work that I do is important. I organise our food drop-offs, I'm in charge of maintenance, organising our rescue trips but… I want to do more. The war has intensified, I can feel it. I  just want to do whatever I can to make sure you, mum and everyone else here is safe.” He rose from the table and walked steadily towards the only window in the operating room. “And I feel that the best way to do that is to be on the front line.” 

Eska was shocked by his short-sightedness. She couldn’t deny that the war had intensified: there were far more people asking for aid and the carriers filled with the injured came almost everyday now. But surely he wasn't serious?

“How could you be so blind? What you are doing right now is far more important than trying to ‘take on’ the First Order. Or whatever you think you'll be doing. Do you not believe that our very existence is an affront to their rule?” She was trying desperately hard to mask the anger in her voice. Makonnen was passionate and this always inspired her but he could be incredibly reckless. Just like Yenye.

His deep brown eyes met hers. “I have to do whatever I feel is right, Eskariene. And this looks like the most logical option to me. Too many of our men and women are putting their lives on the line for a chance at freedom. Who am I to not also take that burden?” His words burned into her like hot iron. His gaze was as intense as his conviction. How could she question him? The knot in her stomach clenched tighter as unwanted images of what could happen entered her mind.

“I understand but please, take more time to consider your options. I doubt Yenye will be pleased with your decision.” She couldn't agree with him, even encouragement wasn't possible. She knew it was a death wish and Eska was not one to condone foolishness.

“Don't worry about me”, he said, turning his gaze from the window to her. “I can take care of myself”. He stretched out his arms and swung them around in a circle, eventually allowing them to drop by his sides. “Don't worry Eska, I'll see you soon.” He was now walking out the door and as he did, Eska felt a wild pain in her chest telling her ‘soon’ may be longer than she expected.


	3. Chapter 3

Invisible tears ran down Eska’s plump cheeks as she brushed her left hand over her head. In attempts to gather her emotions, she used her hands to trace the intricate braid patterns closest to her temples. Her hair was woven into convoluted spirals radiating to the centre of her head where they then detach and fall loose. The ends of the plaits reached the middle of her spine and were secured with mahogany circular beads, matching the colour of her skin.

Although Makonnen, didn't look like her - his skin was a paler shade of brown - people would always ask if they were siblings and if Yenye had two kids. Makonnen was Yenye's only biological child, however, Eska resembled her far more. From her mahogany skin to her delicate brown eyes, she appeared to take on many of Yenye's physical features but Makonnen had more of her personality. It frightened her that her adopted family, which she'd only just accepted, may be torn apart. But she was not one to hold onto things for long. Possessions, companions, family. It was better not to grow close to them, because they would be taken away. Or she’d die. Whichever one came first.

“What were you two discussing?” Yenye asked a bit too casually as she entered the operating room dressed in her white doctors coat and black combat boots.

“Makonnen’s future career plans”, Eska mumbled whilst playing with the sleeve of her white coat.

“Right. Is that why you're crying?” Yenye asked bluntly.

Eska attempted to lie and hide her damp face from Yenye's blank stare but thought it better to tell the truth. 

“He wants to go to the front line”, she pushed out through gritted teeth. She could feel her anger rising again, bubbling like a volcano ready to erupt at a moment's notice. “I don't understand how he can be so oblivious to how much he's needed here. This camp couldn't run without him.” Eska released a small sigh which seemed to settle the unrest that was building inside her body.

“That is true. The camp needs him, he's crucial to our planning, strategy and management. But when someone feels it's time for them to change course, who are we to hold onto them. Whatever he feels that he needs to do, let him do.” Yenye responded, staring blankly out of the window, just as Makonnen had done.

Eska wondered what she was thinking, just as she’d always done. They had known each other for eight years and spent almost everyday together: through her rehabilitation and medic training. Yenye was the mother figure she had never known but was always a mystery to her, never truly revealing how she felt. The only things that seemed to move her were sick people and injustice, Eska guessed that was why she decided to set up this camp - to provide medical care to anyone who needed it and to double as a base for rebels fighting against the First Order - and of course she would lead both sides of the operation.

Eska did not agree with Yenye but let her silence speak for her.

“I actually need you to do something for me”, Yenye said, briskly changing the subject whilst walking over to the operating table. Eska noticed her voice drop a few decibels. “I need you to go on a reconnaissance mission for me.” 

“What's the occasion?” Eska asked. She wasn't part of the recon team (‘Rebel 5’) and Yenye usually didn't trust her to do reconnaissance alone because she didn't have a full grip over her emotions. A slip in concentration could have deadly consequences. Although she trained with the Rebel 5 and occasionally spoke to them, their contact was minimal. She wasn't the kind to form friendships easily.

“I think it's time you got some experience… and I couldn't trust anyone else to complete this mission.” Yenye said, looking Eska in the eyes. Makonnen’s glare wasn't nearly as intense as hers, Eska thought. Yenye is in a league of her very own.

“Where do I need to go?” Eska asked, now concerned about Yenye's seriousness. 

“I will brief you later. After the surgery, come to my office.” And with that, the topic was closed. Eska could only hope the mission would not be too difficult but Yenye had a bad habit of having very high expectations, especially of her.

Before she could spend more time trying to predict what the mission would be, an unconscious man was rushed into the operating room on a makeshift stretcher. An oxygen mask covered the lower half of his face and the upper half of his body was badly burnt.

The two paramedics rushed to move the man from the stretcher to the operating table and like clockwork, Eska and Yenye took their positions. The paramedics gave a brief history of the patient to Yenye and Eska began to take a primary survey. This was not a routine surgery and would take time, precision and very delicate hands.

The rest of the medical team hurriedly entered the room and prepared themselves for surgery, each moving with excessive speed; all with the intention of not being the last to finish.

Yenye silently looked around the room inspecting every one of her staff. They were late. Not only was this patient in pain and needed urgent treatment but she could sense something was coming. What - she did not know but she was not one to question her feelings. They had always been right - unfortunately.

The staff finished scrubbing up and were ready to begin. Luckily for them, Yenye didn't see who had come to the table last.

“Alright. This patient was involved in a bomb explosion. He has large chunks of shrapnel all over his body with a large concentration of it in his right leg below the knee. Seeing the damage that's been caused and the infected wounds, it may be too late to save his leg - an amputation may be the best option. He's also suffering from 3rd degree burns on his chest and arms.”

“Alright team,” she said whilst putting on her purple latex gloves, “let's begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the first three chapters were just to set the scene, the next few chapters is where it gets a bit more interesting.... stay tuned lol


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the wait. This chapter is set just after the end of Episode 7 so we really differ from canon here. I hope you enjoy. Hope to get the next chapter out soonish

Finn woke up gasping for air. 

“You okay? You, look like you’ve seen a ghost”, Poe remarked as he held up a map to the light.

“What happened? How long was I out? Where is Rey?” Finn asked in one breath.

“Hey, hey, hey, relax. You were in a fight with Kylo Ren, things got a little hairy and he struck you in the back with his lightsaber... But you’re awake no-”

“What about Rey?!” Finn asked nervously, suddenly recalling the events of last night. 

“Rey has gone to find Master Luke, hopefully she can bring him back. We really need him...” Poe trailed off looking away from Finn momentarily. “But don’t worry about her, she has BB-8 - the best droid in the Outer Rim,” Poe chuckled.

“Well, I think Rey can protect herself,'' Finn replied, taking the joke too seriously. “Hey, what’s going on? Where are we?” Finn continued, suddenly taking his surroundings into account.

“We’re in hyperspace, on our way to Ajan Kloss, the whole fleet is moving.”

“Why? Did the First Order track us down?”

“No, but they would have. After the destruction of Starkiller Base, there was no way the First Order would not retaliate. General Leia had us evacuate as soon as possible.”

“I see... Wait, does Rey know where we’re going?” Finn enquired, clearly getting worked up again.

“Finn, can you stop worrying about her for two minutes? Rey is fine. Rey is alive. Unlike many of our fighters who are not, and you could’ve been one of them.” Finn could see the regret in his eyes and noticed his voice drop a few decibels.

“You’re right, but I’m still worried about her.” Finn sighed as he began to massage his temples. “I need to get some clothes... and some food.” Finn rubbed his stomach, surprised by the violent sounds produced by his belly.

“Sorry, we just have rations. Nothing to be excited about.” 

“Well, it’s better than nothing.” Finn reasoned as he attempted to get out of bed.

“Hey, let me help.” Poe rose to his feet and put his arm around Finn’s waist enabling him to stand.

“I’ve missed you, man.” Poe said looking Finn in the eyes.

“Same here.”

“...This is very dramatic.”

“Yeah and I’m kinda in my underwear right now.”

Poe looked down to investigate. “Yeah, I guess you are. This bubble suit is awesome, though. Very hi-tech.”

“Yeah, I thought so too.” Finn agreed, whilst slightly turning around to get a better view of the suit.

The two comrades smiled at each other, relieved to be in the others’ company. They knew it was a luxury that could not be afforded to most but were glad to have it.

“Sorry to interrupt your love fest.” Commander Jett remarked, clearly uncomfortable with their public display of affection and Finn only being in his underwear. “But General Leia has requested to see you”. 

“Me?” Both Finn and Poe pointed at themselves.

“No. Commander Poe.” Commander Jett replied dryly.

“Okay, tell her I’ll be right there”. The commander nodded in agreement and left swiftly, eager to erase the image of Finn’s underwear from his mind.

“I’m gonna go, but let me know if you need anything.” Poe said whilst walking backwards out of the room, still facing Finn.

“Sure, I’ll see you soon.” Finn said with a smile as Poe left the room. “Hey wait, what about the food?” 

“Straight down the walkway, first door on your right.” Poe’s voice echoed as he began to run down the corridor.

“Thanks, Poe!” Finn yelled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S. Ajan Kloss is the planet Episode 9 is set on :)


End file.
